Longinus, a Greek literary critic who may have lived in the 1st century AD, wrote a treatise On the Sublime.

The name Longinus is also given in Christian folklore to the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus Christ on the cross. No name for this soldier is given in the Gospels. The spear used is known as the Spear of Destiny, or Lance of Longinus, and figures into the Holy Grail mythos.